THE Armed Forces yesterday said it is ready to assist the PNP, if requested, in searching for fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and his co-accused inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound in Davao City.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla issued the remarks as PNP operations inside the KOJC compound entered its eighth day yesterday.
Thousands of policemen swooped down at the compound last August 24 to serve arrest warrants against Quiboloy, the KOJC leader, and his four co-accused in sexual abuse and human trafficking cases.
As of yesterday, police were still searching some 40 structures inside the compound and determining the entrance to the underground facility where Quiboloy is believed hiding.
“We are there to assist. We have yet to send troops (at KOJC) … but our troops in Davao are ready to reinforce, if need be,” Padilla told a radio interview.
“We work hand in hand with all the different agencies. We’re playing a support role to the Philippine National Police. They (PNP) are the lead in this (law enforcement) operation,” said Padilla.
The military has key units based in Davao City, including the Eastern Mindanao Command and the Task Force Davao which can easily provide troops to aid policemen in the search for Quiboloy at the KOJC compound, if requested.
“We are assisting in law enforcement activities. The AFP assists even other agencies, including (the) NBI. They can call us to assist and we provide additional forces that they need,” said Padilla.
“If they need augmentation from the side of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (we will provide). Any agency that needs the support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in terms of their operations, we are here to join and augment them,” said Padilla.
The PNP has declined to comment on the remarks of Quiboloy’s camp that policemen have started drilling operations to get Quiboloy and the cordoning off of the cathedral yesterday on the KOJC’s 39th foundation anniversary.
“We cannot answer these questions in the meantime, otherwise it will jeopardize the efforts of the PNP in serving the WOA (warrant of arrest) and the lives of PNP personnel securing the area,” said PNP director for police-community relations Brig. Gen. Roderick Alba, who has been designated as the principal spokesman in the ongoing search for Quiboloy and the rest.
Quiboloy’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, said the PNP does not want them to use the cathedral for the anniversary.
Davao police regional office spokesperson Maj. Catherine Dela Rey belied the pronouncement of the KOJC that policemen were safe inside the compound.
Dela Rey described such pronouncement as an attempt to divert people’s attention from the “serious” acts they have committed, referring to the unruly behavior of KOJC members that have caused injuries to scores of policemen.
Dela Rey said people should not be distracted by false narratives of the KOJC that the compound is safe for policemen.
DENIED ENTRY
Three Malaysians who claimed to be members of the KOJC have been denied entry to the country, with the Bureau of Immigration saying they are set to join protest actions against the government.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said Jessica Lynn Henry, Mimielianna Annie Anak Leesoi, and Andrijosebaul Anak Garra, all in their mid-20s, arrived at the NAIA Terminal 1 on the night of August 27 via a Philippine Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.
The trio, according to Tansingco, arrived with a group of Filipinos presenting themselves as KOJC members who later “abandoned” the three after they were referred for further immigration inspection.
“The Malaysians were denied entry for being likely to become a public charge after they were flagged for seemingly suspicious intent in the country,” Tansingco said.
“Our immigration officers discovered their intent to participate in anti-government demonstrations being staged by KOJC members who are protesting the ongoing manhunt for Pastor Quiboloy,” Tansingco added.
The BI chief said the Malaysians told immigration officers who interviewed them they were going to Davao City at the invitation of the KOJC.
But he said the three could not show proof of their financial capacity to support their stay in the country and admitted that they are unemployed.
“One of the passengers, while being interviewed, unintentionally showed to the BI supervisors her mobile phone with an Excel screenshot of various anti-government slogans such as “BBM Resign,” “Stop KOJC Injustices,” and “AFP/PNP Protect the People,” Tansingco said, adding that when asked to explain the screenshot, the passenger said she accidentally downloaded them from her Facebook page.
The Malaysians, who were sent back on the next available flight to Kuala Lumpur, have been placed in the immigration blacklist and banned from entering the country.
Tangsingco also used the incident to renew his warning that foreigners are not allowed to participate in the country’s domestic political affairs.
“Foreigners have no business interfering in the country’s internal political affairs, thus aliens who join these protest actions can be expelled for violating our immigration laws and for being undesirable aliens,” he added. — With Ashzel Hachero
